Techbest – Top Tech Reviews In Australia
The best in Australian gadgets and technology
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Dewalt Wireless Jobsite Pro Bluetooth Neckband Earphones
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Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is undertaking a major initiative to revamp its Transport Management Centre (TMC) core systems. The existing systems, responsible for managing operations across roads, ferries, and rail, are constrained by outdated technology, resulting in diminished performance, concerns over reliability, and scalability limitations. The department aims to modernise these systems to boost operational efficacy and service provision.
TfNSW operates its systems in a hybrid environment that integrates both cloud-based options and on-premise data centres. The upgrade’s objective is to consolidate and optimise the number of platforms and applications utilized daily, ensuring a more effective and unified operational structure.
This modernisation effort builds upon numerous enhancements to the TMC’s transport management system, which began in 2018 and concluded in 2023. Cubic, which secured a $96 million contract, was integral to these improvements. The new initiative aims to capitalise on these advancements, concentrating on tools for incident response, network orchestration, and team collaboration.
Alongside system enhancements, the TMC recently experienced a $10 million renovation, labelled as its most significant upgrade since its establishment in 1999. This involved physical and technological improvements, including enlarged team spaces, drone operator stations, and a 23-metre digital screen for displaying real-time data.
The upgrades form part of a wider strategy to align urban and regional services throughout New South Wales. By integrating traffic control systems and solutions, TfNSW seeks to provide operators with better situational awareness, improved communication pathways, and advanced network tracking capabilities. This alignment promises timely notifications for travellers and effective management of freight disruptions.
TfNSW is positioned to revolutionise its transport management systems, addressing the drawbacks of legacy technology with contemporary solutions. The initiative aims to boost operational efficiency, enhance service delivery, and synchronise statewide services for improved experiences for travellers and freight handlers. A decision regarding the upgrades is expected by March 1, 2026.
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The Australian Government’s ‘More Affordable Home Batteries Program’, initiated in July 2025, has drastically lowered the initial costs associated with home batteries by expanding the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) to include storage. This effort has led to a rise in installations, with applications projected to hit 175,000 by year-end.
Homeowners require advanced software to track energy flow and retain control over energy consumption. Options such as defining a minimum charge percentage are essential for preparing for severe weather conditions.
The battery must automatically supply power to your home during outages. It’s crucial to identify which circuits will remain operational, especially in residences with three-phase power.
Confirm that your solar system will keep functioning and recharging the battery even during grid outages. Proper setup prevents system failures and optimises solar energy collection.
Given negative feed-in tariffs, having a system capable of ceasing power export to the grid is vital to safeguard your energy credits.
Batteries that work with dynamic retailers such as Amber Electric can leverage wholesale pricing, hastening financial returns.
Experiences from real installations highlight the necessity of thorough backup and solar functionality. Misconfigurations can severely restrict battery performance during outages.
Ensure all circuits are linked to backup and evaluate your system in outage scenarios. Well-configured systems can transform homes into energy hubs during emergencies, showcasing the value of electric vehicles as valuable assets.
Installing a home battery in Australia can greatly increase energy independence and resilience, particularly during grid failures. Nonetheless, meticulous planning and configuration are crucial to fully take advantage of these benefits. Confirm your system is designed for complete backup, solar functionality, and smart retailer compatibility to maximise returns.
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OTL – Sonic The Hedgehog Slide TWS Earphones/Lights and Sound/Sonic The Hedg
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Australia is making headlines with its groundbreaking move to bar social media access for individuals under 16 years old. This legislation seeks to reduce the hazards linked to social media usage among adolescents. As eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant states, “We’ve reached a tipping point.” The law’s objective is to safeguard children from harmful and misleading online elements that even adults find challenging to navigate.
The Australian legislation, scheduled for implementation on December 10, is anticipated to shape global social media regulations. This initiative has already garnered interest from governments across the planet, with many monitoring its effects. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, all part of Meta, have started the process of deactivating accounts, indicating their compliance and signaling a possible global trend.
Following initial pushback, major social media companies, including Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube, have agreed to comply with the new rules. The threat of penalties up to $49.5 million acts as a strong motivator for these firms to adjust. The platforms have begun informing underage users about saving their data, offering options to either delete their accounts or keep them inactive until they reach 16.
Numerous Australian parents have shown approval, viewing the ban as a means to lessen mental health challenges tied to social media usage. Jennifer Jennison, a mother from Sydney, values the respite it offers her children, enabling them to concentrate on family time and recuperation after school.
The regulation has ignited discussions beyond Australia’s territory. eSafety Commissioner Inman Grant has been asked to testify before the US congressional House Judiciary, underscoring the law’s international ramifications. This invitation highlights the global relevance of Australia’s actions, as nations strive to balance online liberties with safety.
Australia’s initiative to prohibit social media for users under 16 represents a bold action that may affect international internet regulations. With major platforms adhering and substantial fines for violations, the law is designed to safeguard young users from harmful online content. This move has generated global interest and conversations, possibly opening the door for analogous actions in other countries.
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Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update significantly enhances its AI features with the rollout of Grok Navigation commands. This new integration enables users to control navigation destinations using a more sophisticated voice assistant, superseding the previous voice input system from Tesla.
The updated Tesla Photobooth harnesses the vehicle’s interior camera to capture enjoyable images of passengers, equipped with filters and emojis. These images can be shared through the Tesla app, bringing a fun aspect to the driving journey.
Improvements to Dog Mode now provide live alerts on an iPhone, giving pet owners reassurance. This feature includes regular cabin snapshots as well as updates on temperature and climate conditions.
The dashcam functionality has seen enhancements with additional details such as speed and steering wheel angle, offering more thorough safety insights when reviewing recorded footage.
While Santa Mode remains mostly the same, it now incorporates festive features like snowmen and snow effects, enriching the holiday atmosphere.
Tesla’s Light Show app introduces a fresh ‘Jingle Rush’ presentation that can be scheduled or synchronized with friends, featuring customizable lighting effects for a cheerful experience.
Vehicle owners can now virtually personalize their Tesla with digital representations of custom wraps and license plates, showcasing their style on the vehicle’s display.
Navigation functionalities now feature reorderable favorites and suggestions based on user habits, allowing for a more tailored and effective route planning experience.
Supercharger Site Maps provide 3D views of selected charging stations, showing layouts and real-time availability, thereby improving the charging process.
Users can set charge limits for specific locations, which will be automatically enforced in future charging sessions at those same places.
Tesla drivers internationally can take advantage of automatic routing in HOV lanes, optimizing transit times based on various factors.
To avoid leaving behind phones, a notification sound alerts drivers when a phone is left in the car without any occupants, using UWB technology for detection.
Tesla presents the SpaceX ISS Docking Simulator game, enabling users to mimic docking with the International Space Station using controls akin to those of NASA.
Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update brings substantial advancements in in-car technology with a focus on AI integration, customization, and user experience. Notable features include the Grok integration for enhanced navigation, creative options like the Tesla Photobooth, and enhanced pet safety through Dog Mode. Navigation and charging features receive updates for improved efficiency, while festive and gaming aspects offer a joyful twist to the driving journey.
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Seqwater, which manages water resources in South East Queensland, relies on a spreadsheet-based approach for asset and investment strategy planning. This method demonstrates “functional limitations,” especially concerning advanced modelling, integration, and reporting abilities.
The agency is looking for software that enhances decision-making and transparency. Seqwater intends to consolidate various asset categories, including catchments and recreational facilities, into a unified system. The software should provide features such as scenario modelling, forecasting, lifecycle cost analysis, risk management, and comprehensive reporting.
Seqwater aims to upgrade its investment planning procedures utilizing the new software, thereby fostering consistent and informed decision-making. The authority expects to complete its evaluation by February next year.
Seqwater is determined to modernise its asset management frameworks, transitioning from outdated spreadsheet systems to more advanced software solutions. This transition will facilitate improved decision-making and enhance transparency throughout its operations, which encompass a wide-ranging water infrastructure network in South East Queensland. With an impending decision, Seqwater is ready to transform its asset management capacities.
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Defunc True Music Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds, White
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The year 2025 saw extraordinary advancements in Google’s Gemini family, positioning it as a leader in large language models (LLMs). Beginning with Gemini 2.0 Pro and Flash, Google rolled out improved cognitive functions, including native audio output. By March, Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental had established new standards in reasoning and coding with an astounding 1 million token context window.
November marked the debut of Gemini 3 Pro, Google’s most advanced model to date, outshining rivals like OpenAI’s GPT-5 Pro in 19 out of 20 benchmarks. This model’s capability to autonomously plan, critique, and refine makes it perfect for intricate tasks.
Google’s developer toolkit, featuring AI Studio and Antigravity, has expanded to enhance the functionalities of Gemini 3 Pro. AI Studio’s “Build” feature is optimized for agentic workflows, promoting swift prototyping. Antigravity, a new agent-first IDE, coordinates autonomous agents across various platforms, changing traditional coding into task-level orchestration.
“Vibe coding” is a burgeoning development methodology empowered by sophisticated models like Gemini 3 Pro. Developers concentrate on overarching intent while AI manages syntax and execution, transitioning their responsibilities from coding to guiding reasoning agents.
The contest, commencing December 5 and concluding December 12, 2025, provides participants merely one week to brainstorm, create, and submit their projects. This constrained timeframe promotes reliance on the speed and intelligence of Gemini 3 Pro.
Contestants must tackle challenges in six fields: Science, Education, Accessibility, Health, Business, or Technology. Judges will evaluate real-world impact, innovative application of Gemini 3 Pro’s features, creativity, and presentation quality.
Within a competitive hackathon arena, Google’s $500,000 API credit prize pool is notably distinctive. By offering such an enticing incentive, Google aims to lure top talent and encourage ecosystem lock-in, speeding up the adoption of its technology.
The $500,000 prize pool is granted as Gemini API credits, supplying winners with ample resources to expand their projects. These credits are accessible globally, offering developers equal opportunities to excel.
This contest offers an exceptional opportunity for developers to interact with cutting-edge technology, hone their skills, and craft impactful projects. Even without victory, participants acquire valuable experience and an AI-developed app for their portfolio.
Google’s “Vibe Code with Gemini 3 Pro” competition is a revolutionary event for developers worldwide. With a $500,000 prize pool and an emphasis on leveraging advanced AI models, this one-week sprint challenges participants to create influential solutions across various fields. Google’s strategic approach aims to democratize AI tools and reinforce its dominance in the competitive environment.
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The hearing technology pioneer based in Sydney, Cochlear, has initiated a groundbreaking journey by integrating AI features into its Amazon Connect contact centre framework. This tactical initiative aims to automate both agent and call assessments, ensuring they meet defined quality and compliance standards.
Two and a half years prior, Cochlear restructured its global contact centre services in 14 countries using Amazon Connect. This enabled the company to refine its offerings, which encompass business-to-business and business-to-customer communications, device assistance, orders, insurance, clinical guidance, and sales.
Andy McLaughlin, the director of IT networks and telecommunications, emphasized at the AWS re:Invent conference that the voice channel remains the preferred communication method, vital for both hearing-impaired clients and business associates.
The integration also introduced call transcription functionalities, which are essential for Cochlear’s continuing AI and automation advancements. This setup is fully aligned with the company’s Salesforce CRM, granting agents rapid access to customer information through screen pops.
With a growing emphasis on Amazon’s extensive AI resources, Cochlear strives to enhance support services while reducing reliance on non-Amazon solutions, thus improving data privacy and operational efficiency.
Initially, Cochlear’s evaluation capacity was constrained, with only a limited number of calls per agent assessed each month. The rollout of AI-driven evaluations has significantly boosted this figure to 22,000 evaluations monthly, indicating a remarkable advancement in performance and compliance supervision.
These evaluations employ both rule-based and generative AI to evaluate compliance and soft skills such as empathy, offering focused insights for agent education and growth.
By concentrating on workforce management through forecasting, capacity planning, and scheduling (FCS), Cochlear utilizes two years of historical data within Amazon Connect. This allows for precise call volume projections and efficient agent scheduling, ensuring optimal resource utilization.
In looking forward, Cochlear is contemplating the use of AI agents for managing voice calls. Initial experiments with interactive voice response systems incorporating AI agents have shown potential, although further development is necessary to tackle integration obstacles with current IT systems.
Cochlear’s merger of AI into its global contact centre operations marks a pivotal advancement in boosting service efficiency and agent performance. By harnessing Amazon Connect and its AI capabilities, Cochlear has not only enhanced call evaluations but also laid the groundwork for future breakthroughs in AI-driven customer engagements.
